


Pets

by ValkerieRupert



Series: Pride Month 2018 Fics [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, Trans Female Character, Trans Pearl (Steven Universe)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-17 02:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14823095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValkerieRupert/pseuds/ValkerieRupert
Summary: "My cat's trans. She acts like a dog.""But that's not what being trans is."Pearl explains being transgender to someone.





	Pets

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: For some reason, upon seeing the prompt my mind jumped to the 'my pet's trans, it's an (animal x) but it acts like an (animal y)' cliche. For those who are interested, this takes place in the same human/high school AU as A Cut Above The Rest.  
> Reasoning behind headcanon: I tend to make Pearl trans in my human AUs because it explains some stuff about her character design- her short hair and flat chest can be due to either recently starting to transition or not being able to get HRT and preferring to keep her hair short because that's how it was growing up, and her unusual name (I know Pearl is a real name, but it's not a common one in English; it seems more likely for her to choose it then for her parents to give it to her). It also works on a symbolic level- in the pilot, she was the most masculine of the Crystal Gems; in early season one, she was the most feminine; and in her current design, she looks feminine but in a way that suits her instead of a way that makes people think she's a girl, like a trans girl realizing she doesn't have to be completely stereotypically girly to be a girl.

"Hey, Pearl?"  
Pearl turned to see the stranger, who was a dark-skinned boy, tall and lanky, that she seemed to remember seeing with Amethyst. "Yes?"  
The boy hesitated for a second, but once he started with the question, the words quickly tumbled out of his mouth before he could find a more tactful way to say them. "How come you always wear skirts and you want us to call you Pearl even though you're a boy?"  
Pearl stared at the boy; as bad as she was at guessing people's intentions, she couldn't deny that he seemed to be asking out of genuine curiosity, even if the question itself was rude and transphobic. "Well," she explained. "I'm transgender. I may look like a boy, but I actually identify as a girl, so I wear feminine clothes and ask people to call me by a girl's name."  
"Oh," said the boy. "My cat's trans. She acts like a dog."  
Pearl frowned. "But that's not what being trans is. I'm not a boy who acts like a girl, I'm a girl."  
He shrugged. "Well, maybe she acts like a dog because she feels like a dog on the inside."  
"Well, if your pet was a trans dog- which is totally impossible, by the way, but let's assume it is anyway for the sake of the argument- then you shouldn't refer to it as a cat. If it really did identify as a dog, then you would refer to it as such."  
"Yeah, well, I didn't really mean it like that. It was just a joke. Besides, it's kind of true- I mean, you acted pretty girly back when you were a boy, right?"  
"I've never been a boy," Pearl answered curtly. "Even when I had a boy's name and boy clothes, even when I thought I was a boy, I was always a girl."  
The boy blushed. "I mean- I- Look, I'm sorry. I thought I knew a lot more about being trans than I actually do. I didn't mean to offend you."  
Pearl stared at him, trying to tell if his apology was genuine. "It's okay. I'm glad you apologized. Just don't make jokes like that in the future. Most trans people have heard the 'my pet's trans' one a million times."  
The boy nodded. "Nice talking to you. I'd better go now, I have math homework to do."  
Pearl nodded back at him. "It was nice meeting you. Thanks for making an effort to understand me."  
She knew she shouldn't be thanking him, that thanking people for not being transphobic would normalise the idea that being transphobic is acceptable and not a problem, but she couldn't help it. Because with all the hate she had faced from the school since she had come out and started wearing skirts, it really did mean a lot to her when someone who wasn't friends with her respected her gender. And that was what she was thankful for.


End file.
